1. Yesterday’s 45-42 loss in Oakland was one of only four games in NFL history to have ended with that score, but the second already in 2018. The Jaguars beat the Steelers in the playoffs last January, overcoming Ben Roethlisberger‘s 469 passing yards and five TDs. 2. The “new” Browns have never surrendered as many […]

1. Yesterday’s 45-42 loss in Oakland was one of only four games in NFL history to have ended with that score, but the second already in 2018. The Jaguars beat the Steelers in the playoffs last January, overcoming Ben Roethlisberger‘s 469 passing yards and five TDs.

2. The “new” Browns have never surrendered as many yards in a game as they did to the Raiders yesterday. The 565 yards allowed is the most a Cleveland defense has yielded since a memorable 33-30 overtime loss in Pittsburgh in 1979 (which you can watch here).

3. Nick Chubb is for now far and away the Browns’ franchise leader in career yards per carry among those with ten or more rushes. His 63- and 41-yard touchdown bursts spelling workhorse Carlos Hyde yesterday boosted his average rush to 14.6 yards in his young career. Second place on the list is QB Kevin Hogan at 9.8 YPC. After Chubb, the next running back in the Browns’ career YPC rankings is Dino Hall in eighth place with 7.2, less than half of the rookie’s early average.

4. The last time the Browns played four straight games with a final margin of four or fewer points was, coincidentally, four years ago, at the start of the 2014 season. Rookie coach Mike Pettine’s squad split those games behind QB Brian Hoyer en route to a 7-9 record, the Browns’ best in the past decade.

5. Yesterday was the fourth straight time that the Browns have lost when rushing for 200 or more yards. Prior to that, they had won 14 straight games in which they gained 200-plus yards on the ground.

UDFA rookie Desmond Harrison named starting left tackle The Browns have been graced with a series of sustained success at left tackle. Just six men — Lou Groza, Dick Schafrath, Doug Dieken, Paul Farren, Tony Jones, and Joe Thomas — were the primary starters for 58 of the team’s first 68 seasons of play until […]

GM John Dorsey willingly chances it on certain red-flag players he finds at a discount. This puts an onus on the coaching staff, the organization writ large, and most of all the player himself to develop that talent and avoid outside traps.

Harrison won’t have to sweat his academic eligibility the Browns, but he does enter the league in Stage One of the substance abuse program, subject to random testing.

At the outset of training camp, OL coach Bob Wylie called moving Pro Bowl left guard Joel Bitonio to left tackle “Option Z.” Two days later, Hue went zag and chose just that. But neither Harrison nor Greg Robinson had been available yet. Austin Corbett looked even less like a pro left tackle than Bitonio, so the experiment at least got the rookie some first-string game action and Bitonio some credit for flexibility.

Bitonio played the good soldier, but it sure seems like he prefers to be the elite left guard he’s made and paid to be, rather than pressed to adjust to using different skills as the crucial blind-side tackle.

Less than a month ago, when Harrison cleared his physical after a toe problem, a DBN writer opined that he “appears to be a perfect candidate for a position on the practice squad.” Instead, he beat out a former second-overall pick (Robinson) and the top pick of this year’s second round (Corbett).

Spencer Drango, who started the rest of 2017 in Thomas’ place, didn’t even earn his stripes this summer. Neither did Shon Coleman, last year’s right tackle and the first man up after Thomas retired in March. The two started a combined 35 games over the past two years.

Still, it’s shocking in a strangely hopeful way that both Drango and Coleman have been swept out, and the oft-heard ambition to “get the best five linemen on the field” has put a journeyman rookie without a single starting season of major college football on his resume at the most important spot on the line.

Help me out. Who’s the last undrafted left tackle to start Game One of his rookie year? And how did that go?

Not sure I’d endorse Hue’s overall handling of the left tackle situation, with the media at least. But whatever you think of this move, it’s more palatable with a mobile, pocket-savvy quarterback than, say, a big-armed bomber. And the Browns go two deep on the former.

Two towering eyefulls of Browns poems on this sultry summer Sunday josh is back man needs some jack his position’s hot X marks the spot Soak for a sec, then sip Hey 80 Juice can drop the dagger some talent to flaunt but we call the mascot Swagger not Taunt

It looks like the Browns organization is learning from past mistakes —which is a relief. Baker Mayfield was impressive in his NFL preseason debut. On just 22 touches, he threw for 212 yards and two touchdowns, going 11 for 20. But according to Ken Zampese, the Browns QB Coach, Tyrod Taylor is still their guy this season. In […]

It looks like the Browns organization is learning from past mistakes —which is a relief. Baker Mayfield was impressive in his NFL preseason debut. On just 22 touches, he threw for 212 yards and two touchdowns, going 11 for 20. But according to Ken Zampese, the Browns QB Coach, Tyrod Taylor is still their guy this season. In fact, they don’t plan on starting the No. 1 draft pick at any point during the 2018 regular season. We should, however, see plenty of Baker Mayfield in the Browns week 2 preseason game.

A developmental year. In my humble opinion, this is a fantastic idea. Let Mayfield watch, learn, practice, and mature before throwing him to the proverbial wolves. Tyrod Taylor is in his prime. He threw for 2,800 yards last season with 14 touchdowns and just four interceptions. He is more than capable of leading the Browns this season while the future franchise man gets his feet underneath him.

The depth chart for the Bills has been released, and something crazy is happening that we haven’t seen in a long time. The Browns are listed as three-and-a-half point favorites on Friday against Buffalo. But before you go rushing off to lay a few bucks on the Dog Pound, remember to do your due diligence and check this BetOnline Review. Sports betting is rapidly legalizing, so we’ll be seeing a lot of online books stepping into the limelight.

But will the Browns beat the Bills on Friday?

Preseason football is difficult to predict. Some coaches just don’t care about winning preseason games; other coaches seem to care a lot. So, normally with predicting preseason games, I like to look at the coaches’ records, not the current team they are with. This is because coaches tend to have very firm preseason trends like they always win in Week 1 and Week 4 and always lose in Week 2 and 3. That is obviously just a random example, but you get my point.

The problem with these two coaches is that they essentially have a fresh slate as head coaches. Hue Jackson was running the Raiders in 2011 and in Week 2 of the preseason under his watch the Silver and Black got spanked by the 49ers 17-3. But one game is just too small of a sample size to build any sort of preseason prediction thesis.

This is Sean McDermott’s second year as a Head Coach so we again only have a one-game sample size. Last year, the Bills lost to the Eagles 16-20. But he has had an illustrious career as a Defensive Coordinator in Carolina, where he won a Super Bowl ring. The Panthers lost in preseason Week 2 in 2011 to the Fins, but then beat the Fins in Week 2 in 2012. In 2013 the Panthers lost a close one to the Eagles 9-14, then beat the Chiefs 28-16 in 2014. Beat the Dolphins 31-30 in 2015. That said, Rivera was calling the shots, and they pretty went back and forth on wins, but did McDermott pick up on this Week 2 is neither here nor there rhythm?

One thing we can be sure of is that Hue Jackson will be more focused on the offense, and Sean McDermott will be more in tune with his defense. There are more questions to be answered on the offensive side of the ball in Buffalo than there are in Cleveland. The QB race over there is still underway. So I would bet that Sean McDermott and the Bills coaches are going to be doing a lot more evaluating and changing out personnel to see who and what works and where. While on Jackson’s sideline, of course, this will be taking place … it’s preseason ball but to a lesser degree. I think he is going to go out there and let the offense ‘play’ a bit more. Which ultimately could result in a win on Friday.

We have crossed that fulcrum of the NFL year when accession turns more toward attrition. The raft of draftees and nearly all of the FA signings and trade acquisitions are already on board the 90-man roster. Things look flush. Optimism runs rapidly through fans’ hearts. The depth chart does seem rather deep! Or rather, it […]

We have crossed that fulcrum of the NFL year when accession turns more toward attrition.

The raft of draftees and nearly all of the FA signings and trade acquisitions are already on board the 90-man roster. Things look flush. Optimism runs rapidly through fans’ hearts. The depth chart does seem rather deep!

Or rather, it did.

We’re already past that stage in time. Camp is in full gear. Players are playing, competing for their pro livelihoods. Fourteen straight weekends of Browns football games kicks off this Thursday. The reality of injuries has already manifested with some frequency — not quite megahurts, but still some measure of frequency.

Since the apparent bounty of Dorsey acquisitions, plus a dozenish draftees still under cheap rookie deals, here are those whose status is or has been less than available already.

Dinged but back:

Overall, a list this long and illustrious is not atypical in either direction for early August. But it is sobering, no? that an outsized factor — injury — implies not only physical damage but also degrees of disability capriciously affecting teams, seasons and games, and careers and lives too.

Brace yourselves then. We shall hope for good health as always, but especially now as this dynamic roster swirls into stronger, sharper formations.

Not that the possibility of accession is entirely over. There are always street free agents, trades, and especially waiver claims to be made.

The Browns top the waiver claim priority list through Week 3 at least. Scrutiny there seems more constructive than anything beyond kicking Dez Bryant‘s tires.

One approach the John Dorsey-led Browns have decidedly not emphasized in 2018 is watching holdover talent learn and grow within the system they hope takes root. No, rather, they’ve clearly scrutinized every man on last year’s team and applied a strict value methodology. So far we’ve seen Starting DT Danny Shelton traded to the Patriots as […]

One approach the John Dorsey-led Browns have decidedly not emphasized in 2018 is watching holdover talent learn and grow within the system they hope takes root.

No, rather, they’ve clearly scrutinized every man on last year’s team and applied a strict value methodology.

So far we’ve seen

Starting DT Danny Shelton traded to the Patriots as part of an exchange of mid-round draft picks. The former 12th-overall pick has a year left on his rookie contract, guaranteeing a $2 million salary.

The entire 2017 quarterback room cleared out via trade that reaped DB Damarious Randall and a few low draft picks. The Browns clearly saw little worth building upon with DeShone Kizer, Kevin Hogan, and Cody Kessler, though all had very affordable contracts, especially at that position. They also have zero combined wins as NFL starters.

LB Tank Carder, the longest-tenured Brown, signed a minimal one-year free agent deal. But before Mychael Kendricks’ ink was dry, it was Carder, rather than any of the camp fodder UDFAs, who was released. (The ACL injury that cost him the 2017 season may explain why he remains unsigned.)

Second-year OT Roderick Johnson was waived in June (and soon claimed by the Texans). The Browns quickly decided the 2017 fifth-rounder wasn’t a viable competitor to replace retired LT Joe Thomas. They took a flyer on former second-overall pick Greg Robinson instead.

Starting CB Jamar Taylor was sent packing to Arizona for a sixth-rounder in 2020 just one year into his three-year, $16.5 million Browns contract.

Arguably last year’s best Browns cornerback, Jason McCourty was traded to New England for an exchange of low picks even before Denzel Ward was chosen fourth overall. The 30-year-old is scheduled to earn nearly $3 million as a Patriot.

And now comes the news that despite uncertainty with Josh Gordon and Ricardo Louis going on injured reserve, WR Corey Coleman is also an ex-Brown. The oft-injured first-rounder in 2016 was hobbled with a sore hamstring during his last practice in Berea. Assuming he passes the physical, he’s now a Buffalo Bill with two guaranteed years of seven-figure salaries remaining on his rookie contract.

So the 2018 Browns are shaping up not so much as a hodge-podge of legacy athletes plus an influx of new competition for them.

Rather, it’s an individualized assessment of each man, his worth, his potential, his cost, and the yield the front office might expect from his on-field contribution versus his trade value.

McCourty might be more useful than the fifth cornerback the Browns end up keeping. DeShone Kizer has more upside than Drew Stanton. They were deemed not right for this team at this time.

And perhaps Coleman will mature as a receiver, earn his salary, and establish himself as at least a solid NFL contributor.

But John Dorsey and crew don’t think so. And given that they got almost nothing in return except cap relief they really don’t need, they seem quite sure in their judgment.

“Hard Knocks” 2018 Browns debut, 10 p.m. HBO. It’ll be fun to see how the series highlights the Browns, their fan base, and various plot lines. It will be nice to see a wider audience exposed to the Browns, offering a market share opportunity rarer in this atomized age of inattention. It’s not like the […]

It’ll be fun to see how the series highlights the Browns, their fan base, and various plot lines. It will be nice to see a wider audience exposed to the Browns, offering a market share opportunity rarer in this atomized age of inattention. It’s not like the late ’50s, when the Browns alone had their own syndicated TV network while the rest of the league shared CBS.

Count me solidly among the growing number of Browns fans and NFL observers who really like what we’ve seen from new GM John Dorsey and crew this off-season. It’s been an aggressive, multi-front effort to improve the roster top to bottom. But it’s not all Dorsey’s doing. Clearly the Haslams have unshackled their purse strings […]

Count me solidly among the growing number of Browns fans and NFL observers who really like what we’ve seen from new GM John Dorsey and crew this off-season.

It’s been an aggressive, multi-front effort to improve the roster top to bottom. But it’s not all Dorsey’s doing. Clearly the Haslams have unshackled their purse strings and personnel pickers.

Following up a 1-15 season with an even worse one ought to do that to an owner.

Gone now — and I hope for forever — are the days when talented contributors entering their professional prime with the team that drafted and developed them would leave as unrestricted free agents.

That multiyear failing left gaping holes across the roster and robbed the Browns of continuity, veteran leadership, and depth. Combine that with the tactics of deferring draft capital and of cutting starters to avoid paying veteran salaries, and it was clear that the severe suckage was all part of a plan. Maybe the losing went a little too far.

OK, a lot too far.

But now the foot’s off the brakes and firmly onto the gas. Look at how the front office has shifted into high gear:

Actually using those high draft picks!

Rather than trading down and out, Cleveland has drafted first overall the last two seasons and has taken three others in the first round in that time. That’s quality and quantity among the most affordable demographic on the roster — i.e. players in their first four seasons. If young defenders like Myles Garrett, Jabrill Peppers, Denzel Ward, Larry Ogunjobi, and Caleb Brantley can step up the way Joe Schobert did last season, we’ve got something, folks.

So what might work? Trading for mid-career stater in Tyrod Taylor and signing journeyman backup Drew Stanton, both with winning career records, and then drafting a natural leader, Baker Mayfield, who got better year-by-year over four seasons in a big-time program.

This. Makes. Sense.

Signing second-tier free agents for depth!

If you’re skimping on salary and building through the draft, you hope that youngsters can develop to capably fill backup and special teams roles. If they don’t and the losing gets out of hand, all’s the better for higher draft position. But that’s thin gruel for the paying customers. Look who was on the field for most the offensive or defensive snaps last season: Rashard Higgins, Ricardo Louis, Spencer Drango, James Burgess, Carl Nassib, Trevon Coley. How many of them even make this September’s opening day 53? Set the over/under at 1.5.

I’ll end with one caveat. This time of the year, the roster always looks flush. Up to 90 guys are listed. But injuries will strike. They always do. Already CB Howard Wilson is lost for the second straight season, and two others (P Britton Colquitt and rookie DE Chad Thomas) are recovering from off-season surgery.

When training camp opens in late July, the depth of this rebuilt roster will be tested. It’s sure to prove stronger than it has in a long, long time.

Browns have done plenty of drafting in recent years. Now they’ve been drafted. The NFL has put Berea in the spotlight for the HBO series Hard Knocks. The reality show focuses on one team’s storylines during training camp. Coaches don’t generally welcome the potential distraction from preparing for the coming season. So when no franchise […]

Browns have done plenty of drafting in recent years. Now they’ve been drafted.

The NFL has put Berea in the spotlight for the HBO series Hard Knocks. The reality show focuses on one team’s storylines during training camp.

Coaches don’t generally welcome the potential distraction from preparing for the coming season. So when no franchise volunteers to appear, the league selects a team who hasn’t appeared in the past decade, didn’t make the playoffs either of the past two years, and doesn’t have a new head coach.

So the Browns, coming off only the second 0-16 season in league history, and with two of the top four overall draft picks newly in the fold, were the choice over the Bears, Buccaneers, Colts, Eagles, Ravens, Saints, and Titans.

Is there a clear effect on wins and losses for teams that appear on Hard Knocks? This chart details the change in record of the featured teams from their previous season.With five improved seasons and five worse ones, it’s hard to make a case that being featured makes a difference in how well the season goes. One-half fewer wins falls within the range to be expected by chance. It’s negligible, especially if you include the 2004 Jaguars’ appearance on a similar NFL Network documentary series, as they improved by four wins that year.

So fear not, Browns fans, and tune in without compunction. If any team belongs on a show called Hard Knocks, it’s the Browns.

The main impact of their appearance is likely to be an upsurge in fandom — whether from renewal of frayed bonds or new exposure to this up-and-coming team of underdawgs. Anything that helps rewrite the script and change the narrative away from hopeless and hapless is all to the good.

Last year I noted a strange coincidence with a trio of Browns quarterbacks who all were drafted in the third round had first names beginning with the third letter of the alphabet wore uniform numbers that were factors of three. Charlie Frye, Colt McCoy, and Cody Kessler can now be neatly packaged into a triangular […]

All three played about half the time as rookies but were eventually traded away for low draft consideration before the end of their first contracts. In Kessler’s case, if he’s on the Jaguars’ game-day roster for at least six games, the Browns will net an extra seventh-rounder next spring.

I confess that before the rookie wage scale took effect with the 2011 CBA, I liked the idea of trying to find a diamond in the rough at the game’s premier position. Back then, high first-round draftees commanded megabucks before they’d proven a thing as a pro. So there was much more savings to be had if a later pick yielded a serviceable quarterback.

That logic no longer holds. I’ll be shocked if the Browns do not keep their first overall pick and use it on the QB they rate the best prospect for 2019 and beyond. To quote Hue out of context, you have to trust me on this one.

Word is the team’s braintrust has yet to decide which passer to select, but they’ll conclude that evaluation this week, even if they wisely keep it under wraps. Conventional wisdom places Kessler’s successor at Southern Cal, Sam Darnold, as the favorite.

And now a Cody coda: strangely enough, the three Cs are not even the only absurd coincidence involving a threesome of Browns QBs in this millennium. The already infamous 22nd overall pick is similarly bizarre:

The only other QB ever to have played in the league after being taken 22nd overall was Rex Grossman, who was also a Brown in the 2014 preseason.

In all three cases, the Browns acquired the 22nd pick via trade

In all three cases, they also drafted a non-QB with a top-10 pick that year

None of the three QBs played out his rookie contract with the Browns. In fact, only Weeden remains in the league, at least for now.

The 22nd pick of the 2018 draft now belongs to the Bills, who also have the 12th pick and are known to be in the market for a quarterback to succeed Tyrod Taylor, whom they traded to the Browns for — yep, you know it — a third-round draft pick. Erie eeriness, huh?